Am i an alcholic?

[Finchabald]

I took an alcoholic test on the interenet the other day and it said if you tick one or more of these ur an alcholic. I ticked two. that i drink alone and that i drink to get rid of problems. I dnt drink that often. Only like once a week? am i an alcholic?

[punchy504]

There are so many different ways people can be alcoholics, if you went by all of the different tests there are more alcoholics than not.

 

that being said the drinking alone and the drinking to medicate feelings are unhealthy behaviors that you should address

[Liquidius]

Errr...

 

Well no, I don't think so. Unless you were getting very very drunk on the occasions that you do drink...

 

But no, I know several people that drink on their own - and everyone drinks at some point to get rid of a problem. If you're worried about it though, try cutting down

[Mr Meh]

Often tests like this are designed by "mental health professionals" who earn their living by helping people with "problems". I've taken tests like this too and some of them are so broad that if you've ever smelled beer and said "hey that is a pleasant odor", you're an alcoholic. Try to take tests on the internet with a grain of salt!

I sometimes drink alone, and sometimes drink to quit thinking for awhile. These are unhealthy behaviors from society's perspective (a society which is largely guided by mental health professionals) but since they don't hurt anyone and are not really doing anything but giving me a hangover I don't consider them problems. If I did it exclusively as a way to deal with things, then yeah I'd have a problem. The fact that you are underage makes it wrong for you do be drinking period, and learning at a young age how booze can seem to take away all the pain will lead you astray.

Using anything other than your mind is really a wrong way to approach any issue in your life. Although the professionals who condemn alcohol and drug use seem to have no problem whatsoever giving out mind altering chemicals to people who live alone and perform jobs that affect the general population.

[gersanos]

Alcoholism is a disease, one which science has yet to fully explain, but mental health professionals have agreed that it is a disease.

 

It doesn't stem from a drinking problem, that in fact is a byproduct. It stems from a thinking problem.

 

You feel down, hence you decide to drink to self-medicate. The drinking is hurting you, but more so, it's you're thinking that's doing the severe damage.

 

I've heard people say that a person can be an alcoholic if they drink once a month. But in that once a month they go out and do some extraordinary things while drunk, or immediately after there buzz wears off.

 

Consider the feedback from the Internet with a grain of salt as was mentioned. Also, although mental health professionals are in the business of helping out others with problems, they are still in the business to have a clientele base and a profit. Perhaps look at it as a little warning sign to slow down or change some things about yourself before it evolves into a severe problem. Having a beer or two alone as you're relaxing after work/school is one thing, but pounding away by yourself on a regular basis is a pretty big red flag.

[Day_Walker]

If you are concerned about being an alcoholic then the best thing would be for you to talk to an addiction specialist and let them give you some insight into whether or not you are an alcoholic.

[lakergal]

I'm in Al Anon (the group that deals with the alcoholics in our lives)...

 

My question to would be:

 

do you find yourself being very controlling and feeling out of sort if you're not in control of the situation, person, thing

 

do you find yourself doing things only about and around things you like

 

do you find yourself hurting and medicating with alcohol

 

do you find yourself on a binge

 

do you find yourself lying to others about your drinking or anything else in order to manipulate them

 

Almost everyone (well, everyone) in al anon agrees: the drinking is not the problem, it's the thinking

 

90% thinking

10% drinking

 

BTW - alcoholics and recovering alcoholics are not evil people... they simply have a disease that needs to be helped. I dated a recovering alcoholic for 5 years (he'd been in AA for 20 years)... he was kind, gentle, sincere, honest... but he was likewise selfish and self centered... and he openly admitted after we broke up that he had not worked hard enough on his controlling/selfishness issues while we were together.

 

My suggestion would be go to an open AA meeting - they're usually listed in the local newspapers - after one or two meetings you can probably decide for yourself whether you are or not and decide an appropriate course of action at that time.

 

I agree with folks on here - those surveys are generally only meant to point out possibilities, they're not diagnosing tools... if that were the case, 100% of the population would have something or another wrong with them and mental health professionals would be the largest growing employment sector!

[hockeyboy]

do you feel like you have to drink?

[Finchabald]

i have to drink to forget. im in such a mess. when im drunk it isnt such a problem.

[lakergal]

Get to an AA group - you'll learn to deal with whatever pain you have:

 

many have been helped to overcome the pain and their drinking...

 

so can you.

 

/hug

 

Laker

[pissedOFFagain]

Does it really matter how much a person drinks? So long as they dont hurt themselves or others and can still carry out there normal life! Who has given them the accolade of deciding what the limit is for each person before they are an official Alcoholic. Oh yes the people that dont actually have a life and sit reading books already about the effects of alcohol.......Is that the people who decide how you should act as a parent....and dont actually have children themselves....I expect so. Frankly...I`m getting sick to death of people saying what is right and wrong. I agree there needs to be laws to keep things peaceful but are we slowly getting to the stage where Mr/Mrs my head is so far up my own ass thinks everything enjoable in life should be abolished?

 

Lets be truthfull. The worst people for drinking and other law breaking issues are the people that make the law.

 

Just my 2 pence worth

[antigravity]

I guess the problem with drinking too much, is that it can have a gradual negative effect on someone's life.

 

So at first, it may not hurt anyone, but after a while, it may slowly get worse without the drinker realising it. They might start neglecting certain things in their life without noticing, until it's too late.

 

I've never quite understood alcoholism. I get down quite often, but not once have I ever gotten the urge to drink as a cure. Drinking makes my down mood feel even worse!

 

Back on topic though, if you're feeling that you need to drink to improve your mood, or improve the way you think about your life or situation, then I'd say you've got a problem. Not so much with drinking, but with your life in general.

 

Whatever is causing the problem that's making you want to drink to forget, try and look into that, and think about ways to get yourself out of the rut your in. Until you address the core issue as to why you feel you need to drink to feel better, you won't get anywhere.

[Caldus]

I drink alone a few nights a week. But usually I only drink a beer or two at the most. There have been a few times where I drink more than that alone though. Most of the time though, I just like to taste it a little and maybe get a small buzz and that's it. I hate getting drunk. I only get drunk with other people anyway.

[JadedStar]

I took an alcoholic test on the interenet the other day and it said if you tick one or more of these ur an alcholic. I ticked two. that i drink alone and that i drink to get rid of problems. I dnt drink that often. Only like once a week? am i an alcholic?

 

It does not mean you are an alcoholic per se, but it does mean you have alcoholic "tendencies". Drinking alone and to rid yourself of problems can easily lead to a drinking problem. It may not be a problem yet, but could potentially perpuate into one. That test result should help you to be more aware of it and keep it in check.

[JadedStar]

If you think the only issue wtih drinking is drinking enough to hurt someone else then you might want to read up on the liver problems that excessive drinking causes. A person can be an alcoholic and never get beligerent, miss work, never hurt their loved ones, etc., but if they are drinking in excess they are going to end up having chronic liver problems. And if you have never known someone whose liver is going from the drink you'll never know how horrific that condition is. I watched my ex father in law die from it and it was very harrowing and sad.

[EvaGina]

but mental health professionals have agreed that it is a disease

 

not exactly true. AA, a christian organisation, was the first to decide that. healthh professionals tend to look at it as what it is, an addicition... just like ciggerettes, coffee, etc etc.

 

If you feel you NEED to drink, even if its one night a week. If you ache for it, your thinking about it... then yes, you are addicted. Most likely a psychological addiction, which is the hardest bit to beat... but its do-able. If you want to do something about it, and you wont let it esculate, that is

[Caldus]

I agree Eva.

 

There are a few nights where I ache for a beer, but other nights, like tonight, I don't want to be anywhere near it. Hmm, wonder if I am an alcoholic. Haha.

[Caldus]

Another thing I am thinking about. Both of my parents are (or were) alcoholics. My mom is in the AA while my dad still drinks a lot. I don't intend to walk down their path, but like someone else said earlier, you could be doing it before you even know it.

[EvaGina]

I first realised I probably had a problem when I was 15 I think...

I only started doing something about it last year (at 22)...

 

when I was worried about it, someone on here said to look at it as a "stress-managment issue" as opposed to a drinking issue... Which was REALLY helpfull